Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

You better watch out for Santa… and Anubis

Art, , , ,

While the folks at NORAD are busy tracking the whereabouts of a roly-poly guy named Santa, folks heading to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport should be on the lookout for a ten-ton, 26-foot-tall statue of Anubis, the ancient god of mummification and the dead.

Airport officials say the statue, complete with a giant candy cane staff, is due to arrive on Friday at the airport’s Founders’ Plaza. It’s role? To amuse holiday travelers and promote the current Tutankhamun exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. (Tip: check the museum’s Web site to get $10 off the hefty exhibit ticket price; good only on New Year’s Day.)

Can’t wait to see the statue on-site!

Self-parking airplanes at the airport?

Parking

Lexus has those self-parking cars, so why not self-parking airplanes?

According to this article from the Star Telegram.com, the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has equipped about 90 gates with an auto-docking system that allows some American Airlines planes to park at the gates without the aid of ramp workers standing there waving orange sticks.

For now, it seems, the laser-based Safedock guidance system will be used when thunderstorms, lightening, and other conditions make it unsafe for people to be out there guiding planes to the gate.

The system seems to be common in other countries, but still unique in the U.S. But with airlines and airports trying to cut costs any way they can, I wouldn’t be surprised if the self-parking airplane system takes off and the orange wand-people disappear.

That will be too bad. In a world where ticketing has become automated, flight attendants have become sandwich salespeople, and airplane pilots stay locked in their cabins, at least we could pretend that those ramp workers waving at the plane were actually welcoming us to town.

DFW make-out site gets make-over

Fun Stuff, Renovations,

The folks at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) are having a party to celebrate the grand reopening of Founders Plaza, an airport landmark and a great airplane viewing spot the Dallas Morning News once called the city’s “Best Place to Make Out.”

The “new and improved” Founders Plaza covers twice the space of the former site and has 24-hour security, shaded pavilions, and a sound system that will allow visitors to hear the airport’s air traffic controllers direct the aircraft that will to takeoff or land right over the Plaza.

(Illustration courtesy DFW)

The party begins September 17th at 10 am and will include a parade, a cookout, and a concert by Olympic gold-medalist-turned-singer Carly Patterson.

Have you been to Founder’s Plaza? The airport is asking visitors and fans of the Plaza to send in memories and photographs that can posted on its Web site.

Power up at Newark-Liberty International Airport (EWR)

Cell Phones, Power Outlets, , , ,

Goods news for gadget-toting travelers:

There are now 50 free 4-outlet charging stations scattered through Terminals A, B, and C at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).

The charging stations are courtesy of Samsung Mobile, which sponsors similar power charging stations at five other major airports (so far): John F. Kennedy International Airport (54), Los Angeles International Airport (51) LaGuardia International Airport (12), Orlando International Airport (18), and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (22). In addition, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has eight Samsung Mobile Travel Centers, which also offer couches and other amenities.

Power charging stations (both free and pay-per-charge), desks with working power outlets, and banks of seats with built in outlets seem to be popping up at more and more airports these days. But don’t leave your extension cord home just yet: during high traffic times a spot at the charging station is harder to get than a seat in the sports bar during a playoff game.

Love the – tax-free – layover at Texas Airports

Free Stuff, Shopping, ,

Several states around the country declare a sales-tax-free weekend at the end of summer. Texas is one of them.

So why not do some back-to-school shopping at the airport?

Today through Sunday (Aug 15-17) travelers stopping at any Texas airport including Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), can buy backpacks, sneakers, dresses, t-shirts, caps, jackets and a variety of clothing accessories without having to pay the regular sales tax on purchases under $100.

At DFW, where the sales tax is usually 8.25%, airport officials point out that it’s a good chance for travelers to get some extra “cowboy bling with less ca-ching.”